Think of 1940s style and you think chunky platform shoes, big-shouldered, wasp-waisted suit jackets with pleated skirts, headscarves and a colour palette dulled by war. Much of it has served as inspiration over the decades since - where would the '80s be without Joan Crawford's warrior-like shoulder padding or Elizabeth Taylor's blood-red lips?
But you might not immediately think of Dorothy Gale's clicky, glittery red shoes, which though bright, have cast a more subtle shadow over the world of fashion.
That's because, despite being adorably pretty and loved by generations of little girls, those little girls grew up and acquired working wardrobes with less and less room for flights of fancy, let alone ruby rhinestones (with the exception of anyone working in Las Vegas, of course).
But forget for a moment the shimmering red, because more important than the colour of Dorothy's shoes were their power. Before she went to Oz, she was a child, subject to the whims of adults and tornadoes. Once there, armed with her new ruby slippers, she could skip decisively down yellow brick roads, confront her fears about lions and tigers and bears and go wherever she wanted to go: yes, Dorothy was a modern, empowered woman, and a testament to the fact that what you wear can take you places, whether it's Kansas or the boardroom. Today, she'd wear Donna Karan.
Who hasn't felt that way skipping down the street in a brand-new pair of shiny shoes? You feel strong (or tall!), sexy and in command.
And then maybe, like magic, your favourite designer happens to throw in a little childhood nostalgia, and turn that sexiness on its head. That's what a group of designers, including Jimmy Choo, Betsey Johnson, Manolo Blahnik and Gwen Stefani, did at New York Fashion Week last September, where they re-imagined one-off pairs of ruby slippers - with the requisite sparkle provided by Swarovski, who supplied the crystal used in the original shoes. The shoes, which are currently part of a travelling exhibition which stopped off in Dubai in May, will be auctioned off on September 24, with proceeds going to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
